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The Role of Gender and Black Consciousness for Black Female UCT Students in Social Movements in Cape Town

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The Role of Gender and Black Consciousness for Black Female UCT Students in Social Movements in Cape Town SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad SIT Digital Collections Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection SIT Study Abroad Fall 2015 I’m Black and I’m Proud… and Female: The Role of Gender and Black Consciousness for Black Female UCT Students in Social Movements in Cape Town. Aaliyah Michele Bell SIT Graduate Institute - Study Abroad Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection Part of the African Studies Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, and the Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons Recommended Citation Bell, Aaliyah Michele, "I’m Black and I’m Proud… and Female: The Role of Gender and Black Consciousness for Black Female UCT Students in Social Movements in Cape Town." (2015). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2157. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2157 This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the SIT Study Abroad at SIT Digital Collections. It has been accepted for inclusion in Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection by an authorized administrator of SIT Digital Collections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I’m Black and I’m Proud… and Female: The Role of Gender and Black Consciousness for Black Female UCT Students in Social Movements in Cape Town. Aaliyah Michele Bell Academic Director: Stewart Chirova Advisor: Koni Benson Colby College Anthropology, minoring in Environmental Studies South Africa: Cape Town Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for South Africa: Multiculturalism and Human Rights, SIT Study Abroad Semester: Fall 2015 Abstract This study focuses on how gender roles and the Black identity affect Black women in present day social movements in Cape Town, South Africa. The goal of this project is to analyze how Black female students identify with the present day Black Consciousness Movement and their views on what roles women should engage in during social justice movements. Young Black women have forcefully been present in the current social movements such as Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall. These movements not only aim to tackle colonization, but also enforcing the inclusion of feminism and LGBTQ principles within the goals of the movements. The recent movement, Patriarchy Must Fall, puts an emphasize on ending gender inequality and Black women at the university have been engaging with the movements on the vision of an intersectional movement. Should the focus solely be on decolonization and then the violence towards gender and sexuality shall be left to question? Five Black female students express that this is not an option through personal narratives and through the utilization of their education at UCT. This study was conducted through methods of acquired conversations through snowballing at the University of Cape Town located in Rondebosch. These conversations are analyzed through the history of women’s involvement in social justice movements globally, the response to gender roles in African culture, and the effects of the marginalization of race. The aim of this research paper is to better understand why it is necessary for Black women to demolish gender oppression along with white supremacy, while still finding support in the Black community and with each other. Bell ii Dedication To My Women of Color Alliance Who have helped me explore my Black and Gender Identity I Plan to Offer the Same Assistance AMANDLA! IZWE LETHU! Bell iii Acknowledgements Thank you Colby College for funding this opportunity to study abroad in the beautiful and complex country of South Africa. Thanks to my parents who have economically and emotionally supported me throughout my experience. Thank you School of International Training (SIT) for providing an academic itinerary that allows for experiential learning. Thank you SIT staff, Stewart Chirova, Tabisa Dyonase, Ismail Farouk, and Emma Arogundade for the academic support. Specifically, thank you Emma for acting as our ISP guru and for emailing me potential research whenever it came your way. Specifically, thank you Ismail for providing diverse lectures and for being available to converse on the disturbing realities of a white supremacist society. Also for putting me in contact with my amazing advisor. Thank you Koni Benson for accepting my advisor proposal, for providing contacts, for giving useful feedback, and for opening your lovely home to me. (Also for the introduction of avocado with toast) Lastly, but not least, I want to give a large thanks to the Five Black Female UCT Students that have allotted time out of their busy schedule to meet with me. Your personal narratives have impacted me deeply and I stand in solidarity with intersectional efforts and consciousness. This project could have not been completed without your participation and I am forever grateful. Bell iv Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………..1 Methodology…………………………………………………………….12 Introduction to Five Black Females……………………………………15 Research Findings and Analysis………………………………………..16 Black……………………………………………………………...16 Gender…………………………………………………………....21 Social Movement………………………………………………....29 Conclusion………………………………………………………………..36 Appendices……………………………………………………………….38 Bibliography……………………………………………………………...39 Bell v Introduction Statement of Intent: This independent study project explores how Black women identify with Black Consciousness and their views on the roles of women in the current student led movements in Cape Town. I am specifically conducting my study at the University of Cape Town in Rondebosch, Cape Town. The objectives of this study are to analyze a small group of young Black female students through the exchange of personal narratives including how we personally view Black women within social movements and how we view ourselves. I am also interested in connecting the role of women on global contexts. When I arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, I was instructed by the staff of the School of International Teaching (SIT) to research the student led protests that were occurring on campuses within the city. These student led groups included #RhodesMustFall at the University of Cape Town and #OpenStellenbosch at Stellenbosch University. As a class, we were able to learn more about #RMF through a guided tour given by Chumani Maxwele and #OpenStellenbosch through a week stay on Stellenbosch’s campus. The students at the University of Cape Town were the first to strike the protest against institutional colonization in March 2015 by Maxwele throwing feces from Kylesha onto the Cecil Rhodes statue. Many campuses, including Rhodes University and the University of the Western Cape, joined in the struggle for liberation in academia and in the treatment of People of Color (POC) in these institutions. The goals of these movements include the abolishment of institutional racism, academic colonization, xenophobia, corruption of the police, outsourcing, gender policing, and most recently economic violence. Protests have moved to Parliament to eliminate the hiked fee increase of most institutions for the next academic year. I have analyzed this action as a method taken by academic institutions to eliminate the presence of POC on campus because of the recent demands for decolonization. On October 23, 2015, President Zuma has announced that proposed fee increases have been eliminated. The 0% increase is fantastic news, but there are still other issues that need to be addressed. As a Black female student, I have questioned what my role looks like in these student led movements in Post-Apartheid. Black women have had to demand a feminist valued movement on campus and in the media. As articles are written about student movements, the prominent leaders on the cover are males. Internationally, this can be viewed in the Civil Rights Movement in the United Bell 1 States. Yet, the current movement, Black Lives Matter, in the United States has changed the game by women making the headliners for being in the front lines against police brutality. Have women never been involved in these social movements? Of course they have involved. When rioting against racism, patriarchy falls hand in hand and it needs to be addressed simultaneously. Gender has played a major role for Black women in social movements through the policing of leadership roles and the lack of feminism visibility incorporated. When history is written, women are not individually recognized as much as men. This discourse must end and is beginning to in South Africa as starting in 1994, when organizations such as the African National Congress Woman’s League (ANCWL) and the women of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) demanded for representation in Parliament. This victory sets a precedent for the continuation of the inclusion of women in predominate male spheres. Yet, Black women are still finding it difficult to push against the gender norms. Therefore the study of how young Black women identify with social movements based on their race and gender are essential to analyzing how progressive South Africa is becoming through the goals of transformation. With that said, I am personally invested in the conclusions, solutions, and questions that arise from having discussions with these five Black women. As a Black feminist, a title I have added on to my identity,
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